What's new @ FFDG

Look what we found under the tree on Thursday!! 19 removable Discraft Chainstar targets just waiting for us to tear open the paper...Thanks to the generosity of the ACOE, NEFA, and a bevy of private donors the full set of baskets are bought, paid-for, and on-site. Our work is FAR from over, though. Now that the cutting freeze has been lifted Ranger Dan is hard at work cutting the remaining fairways and greens. Our next big volunteer push will be SATURDAY JULY 16. We're looking for big numbers of helpers that will break into functional teams to accomplish brush clearing (as needed,) pin-setting and tee preparation (shoveling and compacting crushed stone). You've all been hugely generous with your wallets- now we could really use your time! Look for an FB event with details.Thank you all for the support!FFFDG

Yesterday was a great day for Franklin Falls Disc Golf. We had a couple private sponsors jump on board in the morning (thanks Joel and Gary!) and a very positive discussion with Franklin Mayor Ken Merrifield in the evening. While we were touring the project with Ken we got word that NEFA (the New England Flying Disc Association) awarded us the large grant we applied for last month! This grant insures that we will reach our fundraising target in time to place our basket order following the dubs tournament (www.dgscene.com/ffdg2016) and install pins and tees in July and August.

When I became a NEFA member 2 years ago I did so to become a part of a very fun New England-wide tournament series. I never expected to get more out of the organization than that. Going through this process I have to applaud NEFA and it’s forward-thinking board members for following through 110% on their stated mission:

“NEFA is an organization dedicated to promoting disc golf and related frisbee sports in the New England area. We strive to make ourselves a positive force toward better tournament events, and growing the quality and quantity of disc golf courses in our region.”

Whatever your involvement in New England disc sports, NEFA is an organization worth supporting! Thanks to NEFA and all our private donors for allowing us to bring a premier disc golf course to Franklin Falls Dam and a venue for affordable outdoor recreation to an area that could really use it.

Eager to get your hands dirty here at Franklin Falls? Our next scheduled workday is Saturday May 21 (ie tomorrow) 9am-1pm. We'll meet at the front parking lot and head out for some brush dragging and tee/green prep for the upcoming tourney. Gloves and safety glass encouraged - other hand tools also welcome (loppers, rakes, etc).

Progress continues rapidly at Franklin Falls! There's been lots of clearing to get the wooded holes in shape and we're adding weekly Thursday worknights to stay ahead of the lumberjacks at ACOE. We'll start this Thursday (5/5) at 5:30, meet at the visitor lot and head out to drag brush until dusk. Work clothes and gloves are the only real requirements but loppers may be useful if you bring 'em. Stay tuned to our Facebook Page for quick-updates on which area(s) we'll focus on.

We've also made a couple tweaks to our workday schedule, moving 2 Sunday dates to Saturdays, as below:

Monday April 18 (9am-1pm)

Saturday May 15

Sunday June 12

Saturday July 16

Finally, do you like FUN more than WORK?? You can help out FFDG immensely by SIGNING UP for our upcoming doubles tournament TODAY! We've tweaked the format to accommodate a broader range of players with a "competitive" division for a $50 team entry and a "recreational" division for a $30 entry. Your entry fees go straight to course development and help us meet our goal of ordering baskets June 1st. We can't do it without your contributions so do us a big favor and sign up now! GIVE-A-DAM DUBS REGISTRATION LINK

We're excited to share that there's been tremendous progress on the course in the short time since we've been "green lit."

Layout finalized. Dennis and Tucker (in conjunction with ACOE) resolved any remaining issues to arrive at a final 18-hole loop. You can see the up-to-date layout on the COURSE INFO tab.

Ground work underway. The first official workday was April 18 and it was a very successful one. Hole 1 was an impenetrable rats-nest of trees and bushes when we arrived. It was, by far, the densest terrain of the 18 proposed holes and before long it was a fairway. Easy! Hole 2 was next and went much quicker. We neglected to take before/after pictures, but how about THIS fairway preview? ACOE support has been great and they continue to do clearing through volunteer groups between workdays.

Fundraising off to a strong start. At the time of this writing we've got $2100 pledged from 6 private donors (Bill and Marise Stewart, Devens Disc Golf, Harpoon Brewery, the Metivier family, Tucker and Jill Davis, and the Bailey family) and are roughly halfway to our target. We also applied for a NEFA grant (fingers crossed) and are hosting a fundraising tourney on-site Memorial Day to get us closer to the goal. If you're looking to help out with a hole sponsorship or something smaller check out our CONTRIBUTION page.

Give-a-Dam-Dubs. Speaking of the tourney, registration is now live! You can help us by a) signing up to play or b) donating a prize for the winning team(s). All entry fees go to course development so we're looking for any cool disc golf schwag we can get! It's going to be a blast and a great opportunity to check out the progress and potential at this outstanding disc golf site.

Hello FFFans!Now that the project is a full-on GO we've laid out a slate of upcoming workdays and would appreciate you're help if you're able. The focus will generally be brush clipping and clearing. Please bring your own protective equipment (gloves and glasses) and fill out a brief volunteer form at the ranger station when you arrive. They'll point you to the appropriate work area. Some hand tools will be available through ACOE but you are encouraged to bring your own loppers, weed-whackers, etc. Workdays will generally be on weekends but the first one is THIS MONDAY 9am-1pm (a weird Mass holiday that some of us get off). The full schedule:

Monday April 18 (9am-1pm)

Sunday May 15

Sunday June 12

Sunday July 17

Also details are coming together for our Memorial Day fundraising tourney. The reg page (LINK HERE) goes live Monday at 5pm. Grab a friend and join us in a fun day of golf for a great cause! Let us know during reg if you have a temp basket to contribute and/or a lead on some prize schwag for the event winners.

I used to play ultimate frisbee. Then I discovered disc golf and quickly realized that Chainstars catch better than most of my receivers and, bonus, I don’t have to run between throwing opportunities. So now I play disc golf! Somewhere during that transition I mentioned to an ultimate friend and ACOE ranger that there were lots of great disc golf courses on ACOE sites (Buffumville, West Thompson, Barre Falls, Tully, Otter Brook, etc.) and that he should consider putting one in at his site: Franklin Falls Dam. Years went by without a peep and I’d all but forgotten our conversation until he contacted me this winter to explore the possibility. The timing was perfect as there’s little else to do in the winter (for some of us) than thinking/dreaming about disc golf!

I’ve never been involved in a course installation before so I reached out to the most passionate and experienced course designers, players, and organizers I knew in the area (see OUR TEAM). My expectation was that we’d all review some maps, survey the property, and they’d leave me (for good) with some “lessons-learned” and pearls of wisdom that would help me and the ACOE move forward through the design process. What I didn’t anticipate was that after meeting on-site the entire team would be so taken with the property and its disc-golf possibilities that they’d volunteer major time and labor commitments for the duration of the project! We moved quickly from “feasibility” to “let’s do this NOW” with the enthusiastic support of the FF ACOE staff. The two people who continue to come up huge for this project are Lead Designer Dennis Grzywacz and “Friends of Franklin Falls Disc Golf” club President Tucker Davis. With their energy and vision I’m confident that the site work is in capable hands while I’ve been able to focus on budgeting and fundraising.

I’m very pleased to announce that as of yesterday our partnership with the ACOE is official and the Franklin Falls Disc Golf Course development is in full-swing! Our matching agreement with the Army Corps and modest first-year goals mean that with a very realizable fundraising target (around $4500) we can be playing golf at the dam this summer. We hope you’ll explore this site and consider a contribution toward that effort. Also stay tuned for details on our fundraising tournament on-site May 30 (Memorial Day). This will be a great opportunity to play a temp-course that strongly resembles the final layout months before we open. Come out and see for yourself why we think this site holds such special promise for New Hampshire disc golf.